■ Aviation
Lufthansa eyeing Iberia
Germany's flag-carrier Lufthansa has started discussions on a possible move to buy "all or part" of Spanish airline Iberia, a French newspaper reported yesterday. The economic daily La Tribune, without citing its sources, said Lufthansa had opened discussions -- but not negotiations -- on a possible move to buy a key stake in Iberia, which is currently 10 percent owned by British Airways. Such a move could create an airline that would carry 100 million passengers per year, compared to the 70 million carried annually by another European merged giant, Air France-KLM.
■ Retail
Wal-Mart, Bharti enter talks
A top Wal-Mart Stores Inc executive arrived in India yesterday for talks with India's Bharti Retail Pvt Ltd on hammering out details of deal between the two companies to set up a chain of supermarkets and big-box stores across India, the American company said. Wal-Mart vice chairman Mike Duke arrived yesterday in Mumbai, said Sachin Talwar, a spokesman for the company in India. Duke will travel to New Delhi today for talks with Bharti executives. Bharti plans to invest up to US$2.5 billion in the next eight years to set up the chain, but Wal-Mart has not said how much it will spend.
■ Business
San Miguel sells stake
San Miguel Corp, the Philippines' largest food and beverage conglomerate, signed an agreement with the Coca-Cola Co yesterday to sell its 65 percent stake in their joint-venture bottling company, the two companies said. The signing of the US$590 million deal involving Coca-Cola Bottlers Philip-pines Inc (CCBPI) caps negotiations between the two parties that started early last year. San Miguel was previously the majority shareholder of CCBPI and had management control of the bottler. San Miguel said it will develop its own domestic beverage business, producing juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas, to complement existing operations in Thailand and Indonesia.
■ Stock Markets
Bourses form alliance
The Tokyo and London stock exchanges are set to sign a business alliance today, informed sources said yesterday. Tokyo Stock Exchange president Taizo Nishimuro has left for London, where he is expected to sign the agreement with London Stock Exchange chairman Chris Gibson-Smith, the sources said. The alliance will facilitate reciprocal listings of exchange-traded funds as well as information-sharing on trading systems, the sources said, confirming an earlier report in the Nikkei Shimbun. Last month, the Tokyo exchange struck a similar alliance deal with the New York Stock Exchange and is also holding talks with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest US futures market.
■ Automobiles
Isuzu, NTT to announce deals
Isuzu Motors Ltd and NTT Communications Corp are expected to announce business deals with Russian firms when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov visits Japan next week, a newspaper said yesterday. Isuzu is to sign a memo-randum of understanding with major Russian automaker OAO Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod to set up a joint venture in Russia for production of small trucks, the Nikkei Shimbun said. NTT and Russian tele-communications firm TransTeleCom are in the final stages of negotiations for a project to link the two countries by jointly laying fiber-optic cable.
■ Oil
Companies fixed prices
South Korea's antitrust watchdog said yesterday it would fine four local oil companies a total of 52.6 billion won (US$55.9 million) for fixing prices. The Fair Trade Commission said SK, Hyundai Oilbank, GS Caltex and S-Oil colluded to raise prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene from April 1 to June 10 in 2004. It said it had referred its findings to prosecutors for a possible criminal investigation. The price-rigging is estimated to have cost consumers 240 billion won.
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